Viewed this Week (21)

Inspired by Ticket to Anywhere’s What I Watched, I’ve decided to try to post on Sundays about what movies and/or TV shows I watched the week before. Some weeks will be epic, and some weeks…won’t be. There’s no hurt in trying, though, right?

Thoughts on what I watched:The mid-season finale of Bunheads (it did get picked up for some more episodes) was a weird blend of slapstick and super dark material. The scene where Michelle accidentally maces all the dancers before they have to go onstage for The Nutcracker was downright uncomfortable, but it served as the episode’s major conflict where she realizes it might be time to leave Paradise. I still think the show has a long way to go before it becomes something approaching great (hiring ballerinas who could actually deliver Sherman-Palladino’s rapid-fire dialogue might help), but it’s definitely something I’ll watch when it premieres again next year (usually in January, if we can go on ABC Family’s previous schedules).

FOX put the pilot of The Mindy Projecton Hulu before it premieres in a couple weeks, so you know I had to watch it and judge it prematurely. And while it doesn’t exactly meet all of my expectations (which are, admittedly, very high for Kaling), it’s definitely a pilot worth watching, and it’ll pair nicely with New Girl. There were a few too many references to Kaling’s weight (this included Kaling herself cracking a couple of jokes about it, which bummed me out majorly), but the pop culture references were spot-on and came in an almost breathless flurry. The supporting cast is good (Kaling’s chemistry with Chris Messina is great), and the show has a lot of potential. Pilots are never great, right?

Another great couple of episodes of The L.A. Complex. I recently read something that described the show as breaking the fourth wall while also creating a fifth wall, and I have to agree. The show is jaded, that’s for sure, but the insight it allows us as viewers into the production side of things is fascinating, and what’s especially fascinating is the insider perspective we’re getting on reality TV this season. Watching Raquel try to manipulate the Celebrity Rehab-esque show she’s on is absolutely compelling. Jewel Staite is doing some great work on this show. The rest of the stuff is pretty good (Andra Fuller continues to kill it as a totally lost, totally in-denial Kaldrick), but Staite is the show’s strongest asset.

In all fairness, I watched Love & Other Drugswhile drinking vodka, so it hardly counts as really watching it. The movie wasn’t as bad as I remembered (but I was sober the last time I watched), but it’s still this bizarrely manipulative, tonally-off movie. Is it a comedy? Is it a drama? Is it a soft-core excuse to watch Gyllenhaal and Hathaway be naked and rub up against one another? I’m not sure, and I’ve spent more energy in this paragraph than the film strictly deserves.

The Cabin in the Woodswas another re-watch for me, and it’s one that absolutely held up. For a scary movie, it’s incredibly smart and funny. My viewing companion was hesitant to watch it, but ended up loving it. If you haven’t seen this one and like your horror movies with a bit of self-awareness and more than a little wry humor, this one’s for you.

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2 thoughts on “Viewed this Week (21)”

I really need to see if The Mindy Project is still available early. This is the only new show I’m looking forward to this fall. In my own TV news, I’m finally catching up on Revenge. Do you watch it? It’s quite addictive!

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